The new FIA WTCC success ballast system will come into force from the second
race meeting of the season, which will take place in Puebla, Mexico, on April
6th.
Ten drivers will carry extra weight
on board their cars, with SEAT Sport team-mates Yvan Muller and Gabriele
Tarquini both on +44 kg. They are joint leaders in the championship after they
took one victory apiece in Curitiba. This resulted in 30 kg of ballast for being
the highest scorers during the Brazilian weekend, plus 14 kg due to the
championship points collected.
BMW men Andy Priaulx and Jörg Müller - who are currently third
and fourth in the Drivers' championship - will be given 33 and 26 extra kilos
respectively, with Rickard Rydell on +20 and Félix Porteiro on
+14.
Three other drivers will
carry a minimum amount of success ballast according to the championship points
they have scored: Augusto Farfus +3, Tom Coronel 2, Jordi Gené and Independent's
Trophy leader Olivier Tielemans +1.
44 kg Y. Muller, G. Tarquini
33 kg A. Priaulx
26 J. Müller
20 R. Rydell
14
F. Porteiro
3 A.
Farfus
2 T.
Coronel
1 J. Gené, O. Tielemans
BACK TO MEXICO IN THREE WEEKS
The FIA WTCC stays in America for its second race meeting. After the
season started two weeks ago in Curitiba, Brazil, the championship is now
heading to Mexico's Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, where rounds 3 and 4 will take
place on April 6th.
This is the third time
the 3.2 km circuit located some 30km East of Puebla, hosts the championship,
which comes back to Mexico after a one-year break.
The WTCC visited Puebla for the first time in July 2005. In front of
a huge crowd of 71,000, Fabrizio Giovanardi's Alfa Romeo won the first race,
while SEAT's Peter Terting claimed his first and only WTCC victory in the
second.
The following year's event - on a completely
revised track - was dominated by the Alfa Romeo men. SEAT's Rickard Rydell set
pole position, but was dropped ten positions on the grid due to an engine
change; this left pole position to Salvatore Tavano, who won the first race from
team-mate Augusto Farfus. Later the young Brazilian and third Alfa driver Gianni
Morbidelli finished 1-2 in the second race. However, the new track record was
set by Ryan Sharp in the JAS Motorsport Honda Civic with a time of 1:44.994, and
the Scotsman finished a brilliant third in Race 1.
The attendance of Mexican fans was even larger than in
2005, with 76,000 spectators gathering at the track during the weekend.
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